Lucky Number Seven
by sweetsouthernsarcasm
Summary: The story of how Lily and James got together, and their last year at Hogwarts. Will probably end with their marrige, but might go on longer. Rated T for later chapters. Prevously titled The Stag and the Doe
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is the first chapter of my first Lily and James fanfic. I hope you enjoy, and as always, please review! I love constructive critism!**

**Disclaimer:I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. [Insert witty commet about what would happen if I owned Harry Potter here]**

* * *

I was on the way back to the Gryffindor common room, coming back from Slughorn's Christmas party. I was reminiscing about the funniest moment of the night, smiling and giggling. I must have looked like an idiot. Thankfully, no one else was in the hallway.

"It looks like you ate a smurf," commented a voice. I had been so zoned out; I didn't notice that James had come around the corner. I blushed, my hand flying up to my mouth. My temper flamed up immediately.

"How do you even know what a smurf is, Potter? And it's because I ate a blue candy cane!"

"Sirius lives with me now, and over the summer, we got a muggle television and watched lots of different types of shows on it. So now you need to go brush your teeth; is that why you're on the way to the common room? I thought Ol' Sluggy's Christmas parties lasted longer."

"Oh, okay," I replied, my anger subsiding some, the rest just smoldering, like an almost-out fire. "His party's over. Why else would I be walking to the common room? I actually like to party, in case you thought I didn't, thank you very much. And Ol' Sluggy? Really?" I asked, as we began to walk towards the common room.

"Wow. I always assumed that he'd be the teacher that would party the night away. We call him Ol' Sluggy, because we think it's funny."

"Why did you think that? The past Christmas parties _have_ lasted longer and now that you mention it… This has been the shortest one." Huh. Food for thought, I guess.

"Well then, that explains it. You can tell that all the teachers are under stress, from all this stuff about Voldemort. But seeing as how Hogwarts is the safest place in the world, and always has been, you think that they would worry more about summer vacation, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know. I can tell that they're worried about us now, but I don't know why. And I think that they're trying to keep summer vacation off their minds. I know I am."

"Aww, Lily don't get all sad now! I wonder if they feel slightly sorry for the world though, considering that they're giving us our freedom?" James asked.

"James, that frightens me. Don't scare me like that and joke about your freedom!" I made an "oh no!" face, all of my anger slipping away. Lately, James had been less arrogant than all the previous years. He still joked and pulled pranks, but he had deflated his head a bit and actually gained an ounce of maturity. We've had time to talk, when we run into each other on patrol. We've made it a game to see who's seen/who can say the most random thing.

"Now Lily, that hurts!" he replied in a mock hurt voice, with a fake-shock expression to match. "I thought you would have more faith in me by now!"

I just giggled. "Pigs' feet," I said, as we reached the portrait of the fat lady. We climbed into the portrait hole, and began to walk to our separate common rooms.

"See you tomorrow, Lily."

"Night, James" I replied, looking over my shoulder as I slipped through the doorway to the dorms. I thought about him as I walked to my dorm. How he was actually sweet, now. Well, kind of sweet. He was still a prankster. I thought about him while I was in the shower; wonder why it was _me_ he liked. He hadn't asked me out in months. I paused, the shampoo in my hair immediately beginning to drip towards my eyes, and thought back to the first day of school. Had he asked me out at all? I just shrugged to myself and resumed the scrubbing of my hair. When I finally went to bed, I was still thinking about him. My last thought before I drifted off to Dreamland was a question: _Why am thinking about him so much? Is it possible that I'm actually beginning to like him back?_ Then all else faded, and my dreams took over my mind.

* * *

The next day, after I had gotten dressed, I went down to the great hall for breakfast. Not many students had decided to stay for break; there were only a handful of students left from each individual house.

"Lily! Good morning, sleepy head!" exclaimed Alice, one of my best friends. She came out of her seat like a bullet, and ran up to me and pulled me into a hug. "Mary and I would have woken you up, but you looked like you were having a good dream, so we decided to not bother you."

"Thanks, I needed that extra sleep," I replied. I sat down at the Gryffindor table, a plate magically appearing in front of me. I began filling it up with some of my favorite foods, then began eating, gazing at the roof of the great hall absent-mindedly. It was actually a clear day outside, the sun shining brightly with a few puffy marshmellow-y clouds floating around outside. I hope it won't make the snow too slushy, I would like to go and play in it. It had been forever since I had done anything in the snow, and I would like to have a snow day. Just then, the marauders came skipping in, singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs.

Mary rolled her eyes. "They can be so immature sometimes." But then she smiled. "But at least it's entertaining."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." I smiled back. This got us into our regular random breakfast conversations.

* * *

"Hey Lily, you wanna play a game of Wizard's Chess?" James asked.

"Actually, I was going to put my coat on so I could go play in the snow before the sun melted it any. Do you want to come?" I asked. "I'm meeting Mary and Alice out there, you could get Sirius, Remus, and Peter to come, too. We could all have a big snowball fight." I grinned.

"Sounds great. I'll get the guys and we'll meet you out there." He replied.

"See you soon!"


	2. Chapter 2

**So, this is second chapter, that was delayed so much because of school and other things that kept me busy.  
This is also an entry for ProjectPULL.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters in this story. If I make one up, I'll own that one, but that'll be it.  
I also own this story, so no plagerizing, por favor! :)**

* * *

Once I was outside, I met Alice and Mary under the big oak tree by the great lake. They were chatting about something, but stopped once I got there.

"Hey, guys. What were you talking about?"

"Hey Lils. Nothing important, just wondering what we'll be getting for Christmas tomorrow. And is it okay if Frank joins us?" replied Alice.

"Oh, okay. And of course Frank can join us." Frank had been Alice's boyfriend since halfway through fourth year. He was like a brother to Mary and me. "And I invited Potter and his gang." I added, silently hoping that I wouldn't regret that decision later today.

"Ohh, really? Let's hide and attack them with snowballs when they come out!" Mary squealed.

"Really. And sounds awesome, let's go!" We ran towards the doors of the great hall, erasing our footprints as we went. Luckily for us, there was a giant pile of snow right beside them. We climbed on top of the mound of snow. Mary and I began making snowballs at top speed, while Alice was on lookout.

"Here they are, here they are!" Alice whispered, her voice frantic. "And Frank's with them; hurry up and hand me a snowball!" There was a mischievous grin on her lips and happy glint in her eyes. Mary handed her two snowballs, so that we were all armed. Then, the five seventh years came out the door.

"On the count of three… One… Two… Three!" she shouted the last number. The three of us jumped into a standing position, screaming, yelling, and hurtling the snowballs at them; trying to hit their faces. It was hilarious. The boys' eyes widened to the size of baseballs. They tried running, but most of them slipped. Then they got covered with another round of snowballs. The ones that hadn't slipped were making their own snowballs. I wasn't paying attention to them until I got hit with one of them.

"Mwahahah!" I cried, flinging a snowball at Remus; then another on at Frank. Just then, James finally stood up, giant snowball-about the size of an average snowman's head- in his hands, evil-looking grin on his face. His arm drew back, in what seemed like slow-motion. It absolutely _flew_ forwards, though. The snowman's head hurtled through the air, and just a second too late, I noticed it was headed towards _me_. After that, it seemed to advance in slower, like a frame-by-frame in a movie. Then, BAM! It was in my face, hair, and going down the back and front of my clothes. My face was turning red, I could tell. I got down on my knees, making another snowball. Once it had gotten to the size of an average snowman's middle, I drew out my wand, muttered a charm to make sure it wouldn't fall apart until it need to, then shouted, "_wingardium leviosa_!" now, James face got a look of terror on it. He began to run across the grounds. Holding my wand like a baton, I chased after him as fast as I could, laughing.

"You can run, but you can't hide!"

"You think so?" he flung over his shoulder, panting slightly. He took a hairpin turn, and I slipped while doing the same. I sprung back up, running at full speed. I moved my arm like I was cracking a whip. I watched as my snowman middle drew backwards, then grinned as it flew forwards and smooshed its target. James popped out, shaking the snow out of his hair. He dug around in the snow, then shoved his glasses back onto his face

"Lily! What was that for?" he shouted.

"For throwing a snowman's head at me," I replied, in my I'm-so-sweet-and-innocent voice. He growled, grabbed a handful of snow, and began to run towards me.

"Ahhh!" my feet carried me as fast as possible back towards my friends. Scooping up a handful of snow, it formed a snowball as fast as I possibly could; then tossed it behind me, hoping it would hit its target.

"Nice try, Lily!" James yelled. Stupid snowball, not hitting its target like it's supposed to. Gosh. I reached Mary and Alice, jumping into the little bird's-nest hiding place thingy. Peeking back over the top of the bird's nest fort, I saw James bent over, creating a snowball. Alice tapped my shoulder, then handed me a snowball.

"Ready… Aim… _Fire_!" She whispered in my ear. I obeyed, hitting James square in the face as he stood back up. The look that crossed his face was priceless. He fake-threw the snowball in his hands at us, and the three of us giggled and ducked back into the fort. Next time I looked over the top he was _right. There._ I hadn't expected that, and was so surprised that I shouted.

"AHHHHHHHH YIIIII YII YII YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" He screamed, scaring the three of us even more, and tossing a giant snowball down on us. I heard Sirius, Remus, and Frank laughing in the background. I guess that Peter had gone back inside. Or actually, he hadn't come outside at all… But anyway, the boys were rolling around in the snow giggling. I walked over to James, and then sat on him while he was lying on his tummy.

"Oofffh!" went his breath, fwooshing out of his lungs. "Get offa me!" he grunted.

"Will you stop laughing at us?" I asked him. He paused, trying to take a deep breath, and actually succeeding. Then, he rolled over, pushing me off of him, then pinning me down in the slushy snow. He had a mischievous expression on his face.

Then, his face got all serious, and he looked like he was at a funeral for a second. "HA!" he went then busted into laughter again. He got off of me from where he had pinned me down and laid back into the snow. "You should have seen the look on your face!"

"What look?" I asked, blushing. I didn't think that my expression had changed.

"At first, when I pinned you down, you looked mad and surprised at the same time. And then you blushed a little, but not as much as you are now. And after that, you looked all confused, until I started laughing again. And now you're blushing and looking irritated."

"Oh, okay." That's when I noticed that everyone else was staring at the two of us.

"What?" James and me asked at the same time.

Alice and Mary just made 'awwwww' faces, and Frank, Remus, and Sirius just raised one of their eyebrows and started laughing again.

"Are you trying to insinuate something?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. James looked at me form the corner of his eye, with a 'what-the-world?' look on his face.

"No, we aren't. Why are you insinuating that we were insinuating something?" Sirius asked.

"Are you serious, Sirius?" James asked.

"Why yes, I am! It's my name, isn't it? No one is more serious than I, Sirius Black!" Everyone rolled their eyes.

"That joke was old as soon as it started, Sirius," Mary said.

"Whatever."

"It's cold. Let's go inside and get some hot to eat or drink. Because I'm hungry. And cold. So we should go inside and do something, if the rest of you feel like I do," Frank announced.

Everyone was hungry or cold to some degree, so we all went inside, pink-faced, shivering slightly, and damp.


	3. Chapter 3

The Great Hall was fantastically warm, but there wasn't any food there yet. So we traipsed down to the kitchen, keeping up the conversation. James tickled the pear in the fruit bowl portrait and swung open the door.

The scurrying around of the house-elves gave the kitchen a busy, buzzing vibe. A handful spotted us and hurried over, their feet making little pitter-patter noises on the stone floor.

"Misses and sirs look chilly; why not move to beside the fireplace?" one squeaked, grabbing Alice's hand and leading her to the gigantic fireplace. Once all of us had gotten to it, the house-elves started offering a number of things.

"Would miss like a hot chocolate?"

"Does sir want a warm treacle tart?"

"Will sir take some apple cider?"

"Miss wants some cinnamon toast?"

"Does miss want a hot tea?"

"I would like some hot chocolate with marshmellows, please." I requested. One elf trotted to a large cauldron, full of steaming hot chocolate, filled a mug, and plopped three marshmellows into it.

"Would miss like some cinnamon toast with her hot chocolate?"

"Ummm…Do you have any French toast?" The elf handed me the mug, bowed and walked off. I started slurping my drink as the others got this and their snacks. The elf that had gotten me my drink returned a slice of French toast in hand. It even had a light sprinkle of powdered sugar on it.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, bending over and kissing him in his head.

"He blushed and replied, "Not a problem, miss." Once he had turned to get back to work, I looked up to find all the others staring at me.

"What?"

"…You must really like French toast," Frank replied.

"I do, as a matter of fact, so you can all stop staring at me now, please and thank you."

"You're so breathtakingly beautiful that I'd rather not stop, though."

My face, which had just returned to normal color after being pink from cold, turned scarlet. James, always the charmer. "Oh. W-well then… I'd, um, still prefer that you not, uh, stare…" I stuttered.

"Awww, James, you've got her speechless!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I was just telling the truth," he shrugged.

I stayed silent, watching as their conversation bounced around

* * *

I wanted to go swimming. Really bad. Of course, the lake's too cold (and there's the problem of it being frozen over…), but that's where being head girl comes in handy. Or, you know, being a prefect or quiddich captain. I love the prefect's bathroom. I grabbed my swimsuit, stuffed it in my robes, and slipped out of the common room.

Hoping that no one would be in there, I hurried off to the bathroom. Last time I had wanted to take a swim in the pool-sized tub, I had gotten to the bathroom in time to discover Luna Averby (the seventh year Huffelpuff prefect), and Nathan Daniels (sixth year Reavenclaw, also a prefect), taking a "swim" together.

The memory still makes me shudder. Thankfully, it was empty when I got there. After changing into my purple and blue bikini, I began to fill the tub up with all the different kinds of bubbles. My favorite bubble tap has flower-shaped bubbles that smell like lilies. Now that it's full, I turn off the last tap and climb to the very top one. Then jump off, landing in a cannonball. When I surfaced, I did a few laps. Some flips.

I climbed back up the taps, jumped, and did the same airborne acrobatics that I always had when I jumped out of the swings. Finished it with a perfect swan dive. Surfacing, I heard someone clapping. Frowning, I looked for the sound. And spotted the source almost immediately.

"James! How long have you been standing there?"

Just long enough to see you jump off the taps. But I, unlike you, actually came in here to get a bath."

"There's nothing wrong with coming in here to swim."

"Yeah, Luna and Nathan think so, too," he smirked. "Do you have anybody hiding behind all of those bubbles?"

"Yeah, I do. He snuck in just before you. I stunned him and decided to hide him in the bubbles."

"Really now? I didn't think you were that type. So, is it okay if I join you for a swim? It looks like you're not going to get out anytime soon; so I assume I'm not going to be getting a bath in here tonight. But I'd still enjoy getting to sit back and relax. And your company won't be too terrible, either; if I decide I want a conversation."

"You don't have a swimsuit."

"I'm wearing a pair of muggle gym shorts that I borrowed from Remus; I'll be fine."

"…Okay." And with that, he stripped off his t-shirt, set his glasses atop a pile of towels, and submerged himself in the water. Leaning against the side, he closed his eyes, let out a great sigh, and relaxed. I stared at him for a few seconds, shrugged, rolled my eyes, and went back to my swimming.

After about ten minutes had passed by, James spoke up. "What's your favorite color? We've gone to school together for seven years and I still don't know the answer."

"Oh. It's purple… And good point, what's yours?"

"Green. Why is purple you favorite?"

"It's a romantic color to me. Relaxing, and it represents peace and equality. Why is green yours?"

"It's the color of your eyes. Before I had seen them, though; my favorite color was orange." He was blushing slightly; his face had become more of a red and less of a pink from the heat of water. "You've changed a lot about me since I met you. Mostly for the better."

Great, now _I_ was blushing. "That's why you used to irritate me so much. You were so full of yourself; always trying to be Prince Charming. It always worked, too."

"If it always worked, it wasn't trying, it was succeeding," he grinned. "It didn't always work, though. If it had, I'd have you, or would have already had you." He had sat up some, and was looking at me; although I couldn't quite identify the emotion flickering in his eyes. I didn't say anything else, so he resumed relaxing against the edge of the tub.

"Would it bother you if I jumped in again?"

"No; go ahead," he relied sleepily.

Scaling up the taps once more, I decided I wanted to try another acrobatic jump. At the top, I squatted on the tap, balancing; planning the jump in my head. _Hmmm… Backwards twisty flip, cartwheel, then move into a swan dive._ I wish my wand was with me; if I had it I could really show off and make it look like I was half-human, half-swan.

_Wait. Why would I want to show off? __**Because James is here. **__No. No no no no no no no; that's not why. __**But you wouldn't see it; so what would be the point of it? **__Uggh. Shut up. _I shouldn't argue with myself. People would think I'm crazy.

Standing up, I tensed myself for the jump. It went perfectly. _Hope James liked it… Wait, why do I care what he thinks? He's not even watching. And since when did I start caring what he thinks, if I do care?_ Shrugging off these thoughts as I surfaced, I found him watching me. _**See? He was watching you.**_

"What?"

"Nothing. Just watching you dive. It was nice; even though you were kind of blurry."

"Oh. Thanks. Well, I'm about to get out, so…"

"I'll leave, too." He stepped out of the tub. "And I'll go and change outside while you change in here."

"Thanks." Surprise must have been evident on my face.

"Surprised? I actually have manners, you know," he replied. "I'll go ahead and admit that I'd love to see you naked," (cue me blushing),"but I respect you, and won't invade your privacy like that."

Opening and closing my mouth like a fish gasping for air, I started searching for something to say. It was as if my brain had temporarily gone on the fritz. "Okay. I'm sorry," I finally managed to reply. He just nodded, and walked out the door. It changed as quickly as possible, put my wet hair in a ponytail, and slid out the door.

James was dressed and dry. Soundlessly, we headed back to the common room. I felt relaxed from the heat of the water, and now the soft rhythm of our footsteps was pulling me towards sleep.

Once we reached the common room, I said goodnight to James, practically slept walked to my dorm, haphazardly put on my pajamas; and fell into my sheets and a night of dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sooooooooo. I'm super sorry that I haven't updated in multiple years. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for it.**

* * *

Waking up, I pushed myself into a sitting position, yawning and stretching as I did. I had totally knocked out after getting back to the dorm last night. I smiled, remembering that today was Christmas Eve. Grabbing my clothes, I hurriedly got dressed once I realized I had overslept. The staircase had been redecorated overnight. The garland was more intricate, with a larger amount of berries and added icicles. It also had an overpowering smell. _Hopefully, it won't smell like this in the common room._ Slamming the door open, I closed it violently as I gasped in a breath of fresh air, thankful that the commons hadn't been polluted by the smell.

"What the hell, Evans?" Potter asked.

"It didn't smell like gingerbread hell in the boy's staircase?"

"No," Sirius replied, innocent look on his face.

"Potter!" I yelled.

"Hey, it was his idea, not mine! I had nothing to do with that one!"

_That one?_ "What the hell have you two done, other than that bullshit in the staircase?" I asked, sitting down.

"Ohhh, Evans, you better watch your language, with your being a Head Girl and such," Sirius said, a glint of laughter in his eyes.

"Good Lord! You four can't even take a break on Christmas?"

"It's Christmas Eve, Lily. And I haven't done anything. Peter's been too lazy to. So it's just the two of them," Remus replied. "If you look up, you'll see some of Jamesies' handiwork."

I looked up. The celling was coated in mistletoe. "What? Why, Potter, why?"

"Longbottom and Alice."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We might as well just say 'Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom. We all know what's gonna happen once school is over."

We all giggled. "Yeah, they've been dating since beginning of third year, right?" James asked.

"You can actually say they have longer than that. They've liked each other since first year, and were almost always hanging out. Our first trip to Hogsmead was their first date, and it's been an official relationship ever since," Remus answered.

I rolled my eyes. And right as I was about to reply, Alice and Mary walked through the portrait hole, with Frank right behind them. "Their ears must have been burning," I whispered to James, remus, and Sirius.

"What'd you say, Lily?"

"Nothing important, Mary," I smiled.

"Why are you hanging out with these three?" she joked. "And where's Peter?"

"I was going to find you, but I got sidetracked by these three. And Alice and Frank, James put a present on the ceiling for you."

Slightly puzzled looks on their faces, they looked up. I smiled as Alice turned pink, Frank holding back his laughter.

"Are you sure that wasn't for you and Lily, James?" Alice said, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Why do you ask?" James replied.

Alice just looked at him, a deadpan expression on her face. I sighed, rolling my eyes. I grabbed my wand and vanished the mistletoe, eliciting a sound of disappointment from James. "Oh, hush," I told him. "Sirius, could you please get rid of the gingerbread hell on the staircase?" I asked, using my puppy dog eyes.

"No."

I flipped him off. I would get him to do it, one way or another.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Evans; you're not going to get anywhere with manners like that," he said, awe in his eyes.

I grinned, knowing that I had won the argument. Just a few more pushes throughout the day, and the staircase's pollution would be gone by bedtime. We all settled into a pleasant silence, soaking in the warmth of the fire, only speaking now and then.

"Any of you ready for lunch? I just realized I forgot to get breakfast." Cue stomach growl.

"Jeeze, Lily, it sounds like a werewolf is in your stomach!" Sirius shouted.

"Christ, Sirius, we're RIGHT HERE," Remus replied.

"Whatever, Sirius," I replied.

"I want lunch, too," Remus said, standing up.

Sirius jumped up, running to the portrait hole. He flung it open, causing the Fat Lady to shout in protest. We all followed him, some of us rolling our eyes. James apologized for Sirius's behavior, but she just turned her nose up, replying with a 'hmpf' as we walked away.

Reaching the great hall, we all sat together, chatting idly as we fixed out plates and began to eat. "This treacle tart is really good," I said.

"Of course you'd think that," James snorted. "You always eat an entire plate."

"I do not!"

"Okay, okay, only half a plate."

Huffing, I replied, "Oh, shut up, James."

"So you're admitting he's right, Lily?" piped a voice behind me.

"Hey, Wormtail," Sirius welcomed. "What kept you so busy? Sleep? Something else?"

"I was waiting for an owl. My mom said she'd send me a special one."

"What, to our dorm room?" Remus asked.

"Oh. Um, yeah. That's why it was special…"

"Hush. Don't lie; you were just sleeping," James said, chuckling.

"It wasn't a lie!" Peter exclaimed.

"Fine, whatever you say," Sirius said, shoving a biscuit into Peter's mouth as Peter sat beside him. Peter grabbed on to it, nodding a thanks.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. _Boys._

"I know. Boys are dumb," Mary said. She, Alice, and I were constantly of the same wavelength. It freaked out some people, but we didn't care.

Frank, smiling, warmly replied, "I'll take that as a compliment, Mary."

Mary smiled back. "You weren't included, Frank. Unlike those four—no, wait, three—you're actually mature. Sorry, Remus, I didn't mean to include you."

Remus just waved his hand, brushing of the comment like he was batting away a fly. "It's alright, Mary. I still choose to hang out with them," he smiled.

After lunch, we went back to the dorms, excluding Peter, who went to the Owlery for some reason. I guess he was still waiting for that 'special owl' he had mentioned. The afternoon flew by, with Peter returning to the commons around two hours after lunch. Around eleven, we all retired to our respective dorms. Wondering what presents I'd wake up to, and how my friends would react to theirs, I fell asleep almost immediately.

**. . .**

I jumped up, suddenly awake. I _hate_ waking up like that. It's happened plenty since You-Know-Who has gotten so powerful. However, it didn't lessen my desire to become an auror. I took a deep dreath, eyes closed. _It was just a nightmare. You can deal with having nightmares._ Letting the breath out, I opened my eyes and crawled to the end of my bed.

"Morning, Mary. Morning, Alice. Merry Christmas!"

Alice, a concerned look on her face, asked, "You okay? I heard the way you woke up."

"Yeah, I'm fine now." I smiled, grabbing a gift. It was from Mary and Alice. I opened it; smiling when I saw it was the robe set I'd seen at Madam Malkin's. "You two remembered that this is the set I loved!" I said joyfully, running my fingers over the navy blue fabric of the hat and robe. The miniscule golden stars on it almost glowed in the soft light fin the room.

"Of course we did, silly!" Mary replied, opening her gift from Alice and me. She gasped, staring at the set of gobstones. She was talented at the game, and had started the Hogwarts gobstone club. Squealing, she bounced onto my bed and crushed me with a hug.

"You guys! This must have been super expensive! More than both of your gifts!" Alice said, Staring at the necklace we had gotten her. She toyed with the red teardrop shaped pendant and its golden chain. "It's beautiful! And I love how it's in the House colors," she smiled.

"What did Frank give you?" I asked.

"Right now, all I have is a note telling me I'll get my present in the commons."

James and I had actually decided to give each other gifts this year, so I reached out for the package with his name on it. I had gotten him a pair of high quality chaser gloves, despite the fact that his last Quiddich season had ended. I had seen him use his beat up pair outside of the Quiddich pitch many times before, so I knew they'd get used. But when I opened what he had gotten me, I suddenly felt kinda embarrassed about getting him those gloves. He had given me a bracelet. It had a small silver chain with a small, star-shaped amethyst charm. I smiled, slipping it on, taking note of how the chain was sturdy, despite its delicate look. Then, noticing that Mary and Alice had stopped talking, I looked up.

"Who's that from?" Alice asked.

I blushed. "James," I whispered.

"It's really pretty," Alice replied.

"Yeah," Mary added.

"Well," I cleared my throat, "do you want to get dressed and head down to the commons? Even I'm ready to see what Frank got for you."

"Of course!" she smiled.

"We all got dressed, Alice wearing the necklace we had given her; I was wearing the hat they had given me. And I hadn't taken off the bracelet from James. Walking down the staircase, I touched the star on the bracelet.

We opened the door, and saw the boys fooling around, tossing wrapping paper at each other, or enchanting it to fly back at whoever had thrown it at them; all doing their best to know off one another's Father Christmas hats off. Frank stopped as soon as he saw Alice.

He jolted up. "Hey, Alice. Good morning." He smiled nervously.

We got over to the couch, and just as soon as we began to sit down, Frank grabbed Alice's hand. Then, he knelt down on his knee. I widened my eyes, wondering if what I was thinking would happen, would actually happen.

"Alice," he started, "we've been together since our third year, and we've been friends since our first day here at Hogwarts. You're the most important person in my life, and I'm hoping you feel the same. And if you do," he pulled out a box, opening it to reveal a ring, "will you give me the honor of becoming my wife?" he gulped, face flushed.

Everyone was frozen, surprised, waiting to hear Alice's answer.

Looking shocked, Alice started crying silently, tears running down her face. She covered her mouth; tried to wipe away all her tears. "Yes, Frank," she said, her voice wavering. "I love you. I always have, and I always will. I will marry you."

Frank slipped the ring on her finger, beginning to cry himself. He stood up and kissed her, holding her in his arms. The rest of us sat in silence, gaping at the couple.

Finally, the silence was broken. "Wow. I knew that this was going to happen, but I didn't think it was gonna happen THIS SOON. I thought it was gonna happen after graduation," Sirius said, voice filled with surprise.

"I've been planning to since Halloween," Frank replied. "I've been communicating with her parents, asking for their blessing, and they helped me pick out the ring."

"Well, congratulations, mate!" James shouted, grinning.

"That's great!" Remus said. "Why'd you decide to go ahead and do it now, though? If it's okay for me to ask."

"The world's going crazy outside these walls. So I decided I'd do it at a peaceful time; graduation would be too hectic,' he said, eyes brimming with joy. Alice hugged him once more, and they sat, holding hands. I hugged her, Mary leaning over me as she did the same.

When James came over to shake Frank's hand, I saw that he was wearing the gloves I had gotten him. Without thinking, I touched the charm on the bracelet he had given me. I smiled. He must have seen me do it out of the corner of his eyes, because he spoke to me next.

"You like what I got you, Lily? I really like these gloves. Thank you," he smiled, his voice soft and warm.

"Yes," I blushed. "It's beautiful."

He smiled, and it lit up his entire face. Seeing that it made him THAT happy, I started blushing deeply. "I'm really glad you like it," he said.

I was interrupted before I could tell him I was glad he liked what I had given him. "AWWW! LOOK AT YOU TWO! HAVING A SPECIAL MOMENT! It wasn't as sweet as Alice and Frank's, though," Sirius yelled, sticking out his tongue once he finished it.

"I think it was cute," Alice grinned.

"Whatever." I smiled, and then stuck my tongue out at both of them.

After the excitement of the morning (and lunch—the professors had seen Alice's ring), the rest of the day was pretty calm.

Turns out, we all sat in commons, talking until past eleven. Everyone but James and I went to bed. I was too comfortable in this smooshy chair to get up. I have no idea why James didn't, unless he just wanted to hang out, which was fine with me. I smiled, wondering what my first or second year self would think of this. Most likely, it would be a mix of disbelief and irritation.

"What's making you smile like that?" James asked.

"Just thinking of what my younger self would think of me willingly hanging out with you."

He grinned. "My younger self would be surprised that you were willingly hanging out with me, and he'd be on cloud nine about your liking the gift. I am right now, actually."

"I think my younger self would be surprised, too; just not in the same way as younger James.' I smiled sleepily. "We've all changed so much since then. It's pretty awesome."

"Yeah," he agreed.

We sat in silence for a while. I was turning around a decision in my head, think up a storm. _What if he laughs? What if that isn't what he wants anymore? I hope that if I ask, he won't laugh. And if he turns me down, I hope he does it gently._ I took a deep breath. "Hey, James?"

"Yeah, Lily?" he replied sleepily.

"Um…" I took a deep breath. "If that offer for a date from all these past years still stands, I… Uh…" I gulped. "…I finally accept."

Silence. I begin to feel uncomfortable, so I sit up and look at James.

"Yes," he replied softly. "That offer is still valid. And I'm glad you accept." His face broke out into a giant grin. We can go to Hogsmead together, once next semester starts! Or we can hang out on New Year's Eve!"

I grinned back. "New Year's Eve sounds amazing."

"Awesome." He smiled, looking a bit dopey. "Well, it's been a really long day, so I hate to cut it short, but I'm ready to go to bed."

I held back a snort and an eyeroll, knowing he wanted to wake the others and tell them I had finally said yes to a date. "Okay, James. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he went to his dorms, almost running. I just smiled, and curled up in the chair even more.

* * *

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter. :) If you enjoyed reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it, I'll be a happy girl. Please review. :)**


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